Radiant gas heater



June 2,' 1925.

G. E.. BENN|TT RADIANT'GAS HEATER Filed Jan. 21, 1.925

iur

5 Sheets-Sheet l June 2, 1925. l 1,540,528

A G. E. BENNITT RADIANT GAS HEATER Filed Jan. 21, 1925 3 sheets-sheet 2 June 2, 1925.

G. E. BENNITT RADIANT GAS HEATER 3 Sheets-'Sheet Filed Jan. 2l, 1925 YPatented June 2, 19.25.

'UN1TEofsTATEs Paruur -oFFi-cla'.;

GEORGE KBENNITT, orY New `YORK, N. Y., AssIGNOa To PEERLnss MnNUnAcrUnINe i COMPANY, or LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, `A OORPORATIONOF DELAWARE.

RADIANT GAS HEATER.

applicati-bn yfin-.c1aannam? 21, 1925. serial No'. 3,719.

To', ZZv who-m it may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE E; BENNITT, a citizen of the United States, residing at N ew York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a -cer-v tain new and useful Improvement in Radiant Gras l'leaters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referenceybeing` had to the accompanying drawings.

`This invention-relates to gasheaters of the class known las radiant or mantle heaters wherein hollow foraminous radiants or mantles of refractory material are disposed above the portsv or openings of a Bunsen burner and are rendered incandescent by the flame ascendingl through them.

Heaters ofthis class are highly eflicient and satisfactory when all conditions affecting their operation are right. i Heretofore,v

the basic factor ina successful performance of such a heater was the character or quality of the gas, and if this factor were constant, and the heater was designed especially for use with a gas of given character, such as natural gas or amanufactured gas of substantially fixed properties, there wasmore than reasonable assurance that the results would be satisfactory. Under these circumstances it wasV necessary to producer distinctly different burners for natural and manufactured ilfas, respectively, and, as to the latter gas, this only partially solved' the problem as there is a wide variation in the tions of tlietwo gases change in accordance withrthe'demand, the larger the demand the greater-the proportion of manufactured Gas.

C From the foregoingit will be'` seen how utterly impracticable it would be tokconstruct heaters individually suited to the many grades of gas, and as `a consequence it is -now pure-ly a coincidence if a heater is vadapted to the kindof gas 'that is used in it, wherefore it isthe exception ratherthan the rule that a radiant heater is efficient and satisfactory. t

Of evenI Vgreater concern `than efficiency isthe matter of health and safety. Unless the conditions are ripe and the gas is coml pletely burned inside 'the radiants, the heaters give off carbon monoxide and 4other noxious gases. Due to this situation, much adverse lcriticism has been uttered against radiant or mantle gas heaters.

lt is the primary purpose of my invention to produce 'a burner for radiant heaters that is, in 'a sense, of universal adaptability, being `suitable for use with either natural or .manufactured gas, or a mixture of the twol in anyproportions, and `which. ishighly efficient and safe under allconditions arising within the scope of its intendedfuse.

@th-er VObjects in view are -to provide a burner. for radiant or Vmantle heaters which is so designed and 'constructed vas 'to eifeot f auniform `distribution of the gas to all burner ports; to obviate backfir-lng into ythe mixer, and to cause the Haine to risecen- Vtrally within the radiants so that theradiants are kheated at the top as well as at- `the bottom and a uniform distribution o'Iv heat over `the whole heating surface, is obtained.

Another factor contributing kto the successful operation of the heater is a "definite relation between the size 4of the radiant and the heating value ofthe gas. ,I have found through Observation "and experimenta-tion that a radiant of standard size krequires 'for the purpose of maintaining Vit 'incandescent the burning of a quantity of gas'V producing substantially 1800 British thermal `units ,per hour. To effect this result with gases of different properties I provide 'an adjustment for the gas emitting orifice of the burner which is 'separate .from the. gas supply control. y f

As the primary air 'required to give 'rapid combustion and high flame 'temperatureasindicated by the Sharp `blue inner cone which isa characteristic of Bunsen 'flamesvaries withthe chemical composition ofthe changed at will to suit the wide range inY chemical composition of the various gases. As theV secondary air controls, to a -large extent,` the escape from they radiant or little causing a lloatinggflame a portion ofv which is chilled outsidethe radiant, either `of which conditions will cause the escape `of noxious gases'into the room. This proper control of secondary air is effected by positioning theradiant ina definite relation to the burner so as to provide an air opening between the 'radiant and the adjacent portionof the'burnerthat is incorrect relation or proportion to the areay of the burner port or' ports "leading in to theradiant.

'.,Iiind that better results are obtained .by using a multiple or doublejet Bunsen flame instead of a single jet as it affords a better secondary air'distribution. However, to meet the requirements of the differentkinds of gases that are in general use, the jets have to be separated a material ldistance apart as otherwise, with natural'or other gases containing 'a large percentagefof slow burning constituents, suchV as methane in natural gas, such gases producing co'mparaf tively large ilames, the cones of the two jets merge and thus shut out ythe intermediate secondary air space andpjca'use a floating flame with a resultant escape of noxious glSeS-@v 1,

`llliile it is highly desirable, therefore, te use' a multiple jet Bunsen flame, and separate thel jets as described, measures have to be taken. to avoidf contact of the inner conesof the,y flame with theradiant as this would arrest combustion and *cause an escape of unburned noxious gases. kTo obviatfe this I arrange theports for eachvradiant on up,- wardly converging `axes which intersect a definite distance above the outlet ends of the' ports on a line centrally between them and perpendicular to the plane of said outletA ends; and I further incline the ends of ther ports inwardly and upwardly so as to deflect the ends ofthe jets yaway from the walls of theradiants.

.Fronrwhatfhas thus far been said it will be seen that in the evolving of my invention with the dehnite enclin view ofv producing a radiant or mantle' heater that ,is adapted for use with alleommercial gases, the speciiic objects are to provide afBun'senburner for use withl radiants havinga .multiple or double jet gas supply for eachradiant, the gas supply ports being properly spaced apart to avoid merging of the; inner cones, ofthe flame andto providep'roper secondary air supply Aand distribution; and to so shape and converge'the ports as to avoid Contact of the inner cones with the radiant to provide a proper secondary air supply about and between the jets as by spacing the radiant a proper distance from the burner and, as will hereinafter appear, by forming the burner body with an air passageway between opposedports; to provide, in combination with the foregoing, an adjustable control for the primary air; and, in order to create the required relation between the heating value of the gas and the size of the radiant, .to provide an adjustable gas emitting orifice.

`With the nature and purposes of the invention thus set forth I shall now specifically describe the same by reference tok the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a vertical section from front-to rear through heater embodying vthe invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional front elevation of the burner, withl fragments of a reback and radiants associated with it,- the planes of the sectional portions of the view being indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. ;V Fig. 3 is a plan view ofthe burner, with appart of the rebacl; andpsections of radiants shown at the right hand end of the view; Figs. 4 and 5 are seetional views, on a considerably, enlarged scale,.through the burner, the planes of the respective sectional views being indicated by the lines 4-l and 5--5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is asectonal detail of the gas control valve; Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view through a mold used in the casting of the burner; and Fig. Slis atransverse section through the same, rvthe scalesvon which these views are drawn corresponding, respective-` ly, to those -of Figs. 2 and 4.

My improvements are applicable to practicallyall styles or designs of radiant heaters, ay representativetype being shown in Fig. l'. The heater comprises an open front casing l within the lower portion of which is supported my improved burner 2, the same being formed with ears 8, at its opposite ends by means of which it may be bolted or otherwise secured tothe end walls of the casing. j

Theburner is kcast in the form of a loop having. front and rear branches and 6, respectively, which are .hollow and communieate with each other at both ends. Burner openings or ports are formed'in the top walls of the branches 5 and 6 and. asshown in Figs. l and 5, these ports are laid out on upwardly converging axes which intersect a distance abovethe plane of the top of the burner on a line perpendicular to said plane and substantially mid#` way between the ports '2'.` As will be observed from Fig. 2,' the vend walls of thek ports are inclined upwardly and inwardlj7 soas to'produce an upwardly convergent gas jet. The ports are spaced apart longitudinally of the burner and those of one' the product, 'as the latter vis illustrated in the drawings, I have shownit ink thesame position although, in practice, the mold" is inverted so that the core 46 rests upon the chills 47, and the casting is poured trom the side` corresponding to the bottomk of the zing a group of ports arranged relatively closer together with a secondary air space between adjacent ports, and a radiant supported above the group of portsand spaced from the burner to provide a secondary air space between the lower end of the radiant and the burner.

2. In combination, a Bunsen burnerhaving two ports and a secondary air space between said ports, and aradiantsupported above the ports and spaced from the burner to vprovide asecondary air space between the lower end of the radiant and the burner.

'3. In combination, la Bunscn burner having two ports spaced a material distance apart and a secondary air space between the ports, the axes of said ports converging upwardly, and a radiant supported above the ports and spaced from the burner to provide a secondaryfair space between the lower end of the radiant and the burner.

4. In'combination, a Bunsen burner having slot-like ports, and radiants supported above the ports, the end 'walls of the ports converging outwardly so as to direct the gas away from the walls ofthe radiants.

5i In combination, a Bunsen 'burner having a plurality of pairs of ports, the axes of the ports of each pair converging upwardly and intersecting on"a vertical line that is substantially central of the ports and perpendicular to the plane ofthe outlet ends theieoand aradiant supported above Yeach pair of ports and spaced from the burner to provide a secondary air space between the lower end of the radiant and the burner.

that is substantially central of the ports and` perpendicular to the plane of the outlet ends thereof, and a radiant supported above each pair of ports and spaced from the burner to provide a secondary air space between the lower end of the radiant and the burner, the burner having a secondary air passageway between the ports of each pair. l

7. In combination, a Bunsen burner comprising two hollow substantially parallel branches connected together for intercommunication, each branch having a series of slot-like ports, those of one branch being opposite those of the other andthe corresponding ports 'ofthe two branches constituting a pair of ports, the space between the branches serving as a secondary air passageway, a radiant supported above each pair of ports and spaced from the burner to provide a secondary air space between the low-er end of the radiant and the burner,

the axes of the ports of each pair convergbranches constituting a pair of ports, a

radiant supported above each pair of portsA and having its lower end spaced from the burner to provideV a secondary air space between the lower end of the radiant and the` burner, the space between the two branches serving as a secondary air passageway, the axes of the ports. of eachV pair converging upwardly and intersecting centrally withinthe lower portion of the corresponding radiant.

9. In combination, a Bunsen burner comprising' two hollow substantially parallel and relatively close together branches connected and communicating at their ends, a mixing tube leading into one end of the burner, each branch having a series of slotlilevports, those of one branch being oplposite those of the other and the corresponding ports of the two-branches constituting a pair of ports, a radiant supported above each pair of ports and having its lower end spaced from the burner to provide a secondary airspace between the lower end of the radiant and the burner, the space between the twobranches serving as a secondary air passageway, the axes of the ports of each pair converging upwardly and intersecting centrallywithin the lower portion of the corresponding radiant, ay gas supply member arranged to discharge into the mixing tube, a' valve-for controlling the supply, and an auxiliary valve for adjusting the gas emitting oriiice of the supply member.

10. 'In combination, a Bunsen burnercomprising two hollow substantially parallel branches connected together and communieating at their ends, a mixing tube leading' into one end of the burner, each branch having al series of slot-like ports, those of one branch being opposite those of the other and the corresponding ports of the two branches constituting a pair kof ports, a

radiant supported above each pair of ports and having its lower end spaced from the burner to provide a secondary air space between the lower end of the radiant and the burner, the space between the two branches serving as a secondary air passageway, the axes of the ports of each pair' converging upwardly and intersecting centrally within the lower portion of the corresponding radiant, a gas supply member arranged to discharge into the mixing tube, a valve for controlling the supply, an auxiliary valve for adjusting the gas emitting orifice oi the supply member, andan adjustable air shutter for controlling the primary air supply of the mixing tube.

ll. In combination, a Bunsen gas burner gether at their ends to form a continuous gas passage and separatedby a narrow unobstructed secondary air space, each branch having a series of ports, those of one branch being opposite those of the other and the corresponding ports of the two branches constituting a pair of ports the portsl of eaeh pair being inclined upwardly toward each other so that the flames therefrom meet above the aforesaid secondary air spacel to` form a single flame, and a radiant supported above each pair of ports andy in spaced relationto the burner so as toprovide a seeondaryair supply between the lower end of each radiant and the burner.

l2. In combination, a Bunsen burner having a plurality of ports and a secondary air space between adjacent ports, and a radiant supported above said ports, lsaid radiant iaving secondary air openings in the vicinity of the ports. v Y

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix iny. signature. l 1

GEORGE E. BENNITT. 

